So What Really Happened In The Beddawi Camp Today?
There are now two versions of the Beddawi camp violence: The official Lebanese Army version, and the “Eyewitness version“
First, with the “eyewitness” version (where is Youtube when you need it?):
A peaceful protest began within the Badawi Palestinian Refugee Camp in north Lebanon. The protestors had signs reading “Nahr el Bared is in our soul” and “Nahr el Bared, we won’t forget you.” The protestors were calling for an end to the violence. [..] The protestors did not have clubs. Nobody had clubs. We saw the whole demonstration. They weren’t carrying anything. We went from the beginning to the end of the demonstration. We saw it all, and no one was carrying clubs.“Furthermore, she continued, “the protest was never out of hand. They weren’t throwing stones. At the time the Army opened fire, women were sitting on the ground at the front, and a number of people even had their backs to the soldiers. At the time the Army opened fire, people were getting quieter and had stopped shouting, as if shouting is enough to legitimize open fire.”
Now the Army’s official version:
بتاريخ اليوم، تظاهر عدد من الأشخاص، انطلاقاً من مخيم البداوي واقدموا على قطع الطريق العام بالدواليب والعوائق، مطالبين بالعودة إلى مخيم نهر البارد.
عملت قوى الجيش جاهدة لإنهاء هذا التحرك سلمياً لكنها لم تلاق أي تجاوب من قبل المحتجين الذين حاولوا اجتياز الحواجز العسكرية من دون الامتثال للإنذارات المتكررة من قبل عناصر الجيش، كما لم يهابوا إطلاق النار التحذيري بعدما شكل اندفاع المتظاهرين المزودين بالعصي والآلات الحادة تهديداً أكيداً لسلامة تلك القوى.
Translation (mine)
Today, a group of people began a protest from the Beddawi camp and cut-off the main road using tires and barricades, demanding the return to the Naher Al Bared Camp. The armed forces tried persistently to end this movement peacefully but didn’t receive any cooperation from the protesters who tried to trespass the Military checkpoints without listening to the soldiers’ repeated warnings, or to the warning shots released after the momentum of the demonstrators, who are armed with batons and sharp instruments, became a threat to the security of the Soldiers
This is a free world and I chose to believe the Army. Why on earth would they shoot at people if they don’t feel threatened?
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Hello, my name is Mustapha and I blog in The Beirut Spring about Lebanese society and politics. I started in February 2005 after the killing of P.M. Rafik Hariri.
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i agree with you,Mustapha, those people were obviously manipulated.
I will believe My national Armys’ versions while I wasn’t there myself.
Bi Qalbina Ya Watan!
Not to mention the above picture, which shows someone setting tires on fire…
Why would the army shoot for no reason? Why, of course, to further the zionist agenda in Lebanon!!! (That’s sarcasm, btw)
Why on earth would they shoot at people if they don’t feel threatened?
Why do Hezb & Hamas shoot rockets? Why did Sabra & Shatila happen? Or Darfur or Bosnia or Somalia? Because people hated and wanted to kill.
Post a note on Kabob-boy’s site and see if incriminates himself by deleting it. For now I make no judgment.
“Why on earth would they shoot at people if they don’t feel threatened?”
Because they’re inexperienced, and untrained - both militarily and psychologically. Not to forget the general anti-Palestinian attitude prevalent in Lebanon.
Mustapha,
Feeling threatened - of course, I wasn’t there, so I don’t know how they felt - does not mean you can just fire guns. Comon. That is how people rationalized their involvement in the civil war.
“We felt threatened.”
“We had to defend ourselves.”
Enough.
One of the Innovative strategies to topple the Siniora govt during the dtown sitin was to use women and children to invade the `Serail` This obscene plan, put together by HZB and syrian intelligence was put on hold until more convenient political circumstances are in place. In order undermine the lebanese army, the same intelligence is using women and children in order to put pressure on the military to shoot on “innocent civilians”, hence portraying the army as ruthless and create a civilian uprising within the Palestinian refugees. It is a delicate situation, civilians should be spared and the lebanese army should not fall into this heneous trap. I believe more wicked plans await the lebanese army and unfortunately I have a feeling that the army will succumb to the monstrous plans develishly planned by one of the most notorious intelligence in the arab world. Since the confrontations are unavoidable, I am afraid a military `coup`is looming in the horizon, we in Lebanon are too much divided to protect our military. The civilian war is a certainty now. Start cleaning up the shelters and start filling up the sand bags, food, water and gaz are necessary as well.
Dory
OK Dory, I will perpare myself for the next canadian civil war…
Kheir,
we`re in the midst of the canadian civil war. What are yo talking about? civil right, civil marriage, civil court, civil etc… and “civil plait” thats please in french canadian.
Again, like JW so eloquently put it in one of his posts a few weeks ago, “if you have to apologize for defending yourself, you’ve already lost.” I say the Army and M14 have to take a firm stand and clobber whomever thinks they are above the law, from Hizbtiiz w jérr…
hahah Dory… that was good :)
“This is a free world and I chose to believe the Army. Why on earth would they shoot at people if they don’t feel threatened?”
Because in Lebanon, there are precedent where unarmed Palestinians, and other Lebanese innocents, have been slaughtered. Remember how the last civil war started? In Lebanon, only if those behind you have revenge power will you be relatively safe. The Palestinians don’t have that anymore. So it’s easy to kill them. But the Lebanese never learn from past mistakes.
Jim, go get a clue.
Because in Lebanon, there are precedent where unarmed Palestinians, and other Lebanese innocents, have been slaughtered.
How about this precedent: 17 INNOCENT Lebanese soldiers slaughtered in their sleep or on their way to work, before any army move on the camp.
Remember how the last civil war started?
Yes I do. It started with Syrian weapons and Palestinians shooting at Lebanese, army and civilians and beginning with an attempt on MP Pierre Gemayel’s life.
But the Lebanese never learn from past mistakes.
And people like you and the Palestinians do?
The Lebs trusted the Palis on 156 ceases fires in 75-76, and they trusted them again today to block Fatah el Islam from retreating to the “old” camp. Big mistake again.
One thing we need to desperately learn is to stop listening to clueless people like you.